The thinnings which were pruned were then - and are again now to a growing degree - converted into charcoal by being cured in slow-burning portable kilns, small enough to be towed behind a car.

However, until the barbecue boom, there was only a small market for the end product: it was used mainly as artists' drawing materials, in some medicines, and as a filtration agent in the chemical industry.

Then came the outdoor-eating craze and demand for charcoal soared into the stratosphere. Trouble was, there were few coppicers at work in Britain to satisfy the demand so all but a tiny proportion had to be imported. Much of it comes from Spain which, even to be generous, cannot be described as a country over-burdened with timber.

In the past few years, however, there has been a growing revival in British coppicing, often fuelled by people wanting to get out of the city rat race and work in the countryside. They found that a car and a kiln could set them up in business for a few thousand pounds.

More enlightened landowners are also recognising the benefits of coppicing. They invite coppicers into their woodland, usually for free, so the charcoal burners get their raw material and the owner gets his woodland properly polled. A good deal for one and all.

The fly in the ointment, however, for the barbecue fan is knowing where the buy British charcoal: it is still in short supply.

However, there is an organisation called the Coppice Association which has an active branch in the North West. For more info, log onto www.woodnet.org.uk.

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Comments

As a local charcoal producer I was very pleased to see John Sheard's article: The burning shame of British barbecues.

We make and sell charcoal under the name Craven Charcoal. We sell it at Ashfield DIY and Dugdales in Settle and various other caravan parks etc, and have done so since 1995. There are several charcoal burners in the Yorkshire region (see http://www.yorwoods.co.uk/framesets/framecharc.htm) and bearing in mind John Sheard's comment that British charcoal is difficult to find, perhaps as a follow-up to his article Daelnet could publish a Yorkshire charcoal directory?

British burners face a big problem with imports: it accounts for approx 90% of British consumption. This is due largely to its price: it comes into this country at about one third of the price a British burner can produce it at. This price differential is due to cheaper labour costs.

However it should be noted that British charcoal is in fact a superior product, as anyone who has used it will testify: it lights more quickly, burns hotter, has a higher carbon content and is lighter than imported products.

So this superiority, linked to its greener image, and the current trend for sourcing goods more locally, should stand British charcoal in good stead. However there will always be this large hurdle of "the price" to overcome.

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